Yarn Archives - Page 27 of 43 - ............Beatrice Ryan Designs............

Monday Makings…

March 10, 2014 By Beatrice Ryan Designs 14 Comments

I have a large stack of WIP’s… What about you?? The majority of them are crochet projects that I fully intend to finish!!! But this week, my daughter asked me if I could Knit (yes Knit) a hat for her friend’s birthday,,, And she would by the yarn… How can you say no to that?? Well I guess if you didn’t know how to knit you would say no…lol.

So, She brought the yarn home… A gorgeous skein from Cascade Yarns Eco Duo line… It was a Alpacha/Merino Wool blend.. undyed. I don’t knit often, but I can do the basics… So I had her show me a picture of what type of beanie she wanted, and I dug out my knitting needles(well found them in my knitting drawer)! Then the fun began… I was nervous, I wanted it to turn out just as she wanted and also,,, not ruin the great yarn she bought… When you are making something for someone else’s vision,,, It is always a little scary!

Finally a few hours later… The hat was complete!! Yay,,, But I was worried it wasn’t what she had pictured,,, I thought it may be a little more slouchy than she wanted… When she arrived home later that evening I showed it to her and she was very happy… I was greatly relieved!!! So here it is,,, One of my few knitted projects…

Back to crocheting… Do you hear a sigh of relief?? I am so much faster and proficient with crochet, it is really my craft of choice!! But after knitting this hat,,,I thought… Hmmm maybe I will try a little more knitting in the future!

This week I also completed Week 8 of the Crochet-A-Long… We are nearing the end… The edging will be started in the next week or so… I am really happy with the afghan so far! All the pictures on Facebook Show and Tell have been really great… If you have time,, hop over to last Friday’s Show and Tell and check them out!!

Charlie could hardly sit still for this picture… All he wanted to do was bounce all over the yard!!

Happy Crocheting!!!

Elena

Filed Under: Patterns and Projects Tagged With: Afghan, Beanie, Charlie, Crochet, Hat, Pattern, Yarn

Tuesday Tidbit… Crochet Storage!

February 4, 2014 By Beatrice Ryan Designs 11 Comments

How to stay organized when working on a multi-colored afghan… I place all my yarn in a shallow plastic tote, along with my scissors, hook and other needed amenities… As I make the squares for a Granny Afghan, I also keep them lined up in the tote…This method helps keep the yarn tidy, clean and easy access when I want to pull out my project! No more looking for my silly hook… And the bonus is… If I put it away for a long period of time… Everything is there when I am ready to crochet and no questioning what hook I was using!

Happy Hooking!!

Elena storage

Filed Under: Patterns and Projects Tagged With: Afghan, Granny, Hook, Yarn

Throw Back Thursday Crochet….

January 23, 2014 By Beatrice Ryan Designs Leave a Comment

Like many of you know,,, My Grandmother Beatrice Ryan Ramshaw was the one who taught me to crochet 40 years ago… I thought it would be fun to show you one of her blast from the past Afghans… She was such an avid crocheter… Mastering both yarn and thread techniques!!! I often wonder what it was like to crochet for her… She was born around the turn of the century… and lived until 1997… The materials she must have learned with would have been hard to come by… She lived in a remote area of Northern Canada until the 40’s… But even when she moved to the United States and settled in Northern California,,, I think yarn and patterns would have been so much different from what we have now!!

This week the Afghan I am sharing was made for my favorite Great Aunt Velma… Velma was her sister-in-law, who also came to the United States in the 40’s… They were great friend too!! I was blessed enough to inherit this afghan after Velma passed away about a decade ago… I was amazed how well this beauty held up over the years… My best guess is that Beatrice made it in the 70’s. Amazingly this is one of the softest Afghans I have… I was a little surprised, many of the acrylic yarns during that time were pretty scratchy and rough! It definitely is a treasure!

This Great Afghan appears to be completely done in single crochet, with every other row done in back loop only… It looks to be a dk weight and a larger hook like maybe a N size… Gotta love it… And to top it off… it measures a staggering 9+ feet long and 4+ feet wide… I think she made it so it would nicely drape over both ends of Velma’s queen size bed…

Well, there you have a Throw Back Thursday Crochet treat!!! What about you… Do you have any Throw Back Treasures??

..Happy Crocheting!!

Elena